Chapter 1 - Flint

Chapter 1

Flint

Our mate was missing and in danger.

I'd never seen Gage look so terrified, not even the day Freya had fallen to wolfsbane poison.

"What the hell happened?" Heath snarled through the pack bond.

"I don't know!" I answered. "She was sleeping beside me. Now she's gone."

My wolf spirit took over, nearly going feral at the thought of losing her. I burst into a run, going to question the two guards who'd been assigned to watch over her.

Both wolves whined and crawled on the ground on their bellies, showing their submission to me, a dominant alpha wolf. Lucky for them, they'd been the last ones to see Freya right before she disappeared. I needed to know what they knew, so they were safe… for now.

"Tell me what happened," I demanded just as Heath reached my side, his fangs bared.

When Gage had killed Nira, he'd taken her position as pack alpha over the Frost Fang pack, our old pack. Through our newly restored Frost Fang pack bond, the two subordinate wolves rushed to explain their actions.

"We recognized who she was…" Bea started.

Ivar added, "Our pack alpha's claiming bite caught our attention right away. We knew she was Gage's mate and that we should obey the alpha pair."

"We had no choice but to listen to her command."

"Did she say where she was going?" I prompted.

"Or anything that might help us find her?" Heath paced back and forth, clearly chafing at the delay in going after our mate.

But Bea and Ivar could tell us nothing useful.

"This was a waste of time," Heath growled. "We think witches have her. We need to track her before they can magic away her trail."

The two subordinate wolves fell to the ground once more, whimpering under our alpha ire. All my wolf spirit cared about was finding his mate, so I restrained my anger.

The three of us had used our alpha powers to uncover the true loyalties of all Frost Fang wolves — these two were above reproach. That's why we'd given them guard duty over our most precious pack member, Freya. Killing two of our most loyal wolves for their failure would be stupid.

"Redeem yourselves by helping us find her," I demanded.

Given another chance to prove themselves, Bea and Ivar perked up, their ears lifting.

"We'll get a vehicle," Bea suggested.

"Catch up to us," Heath answered, already setting off in a dead run in the last direction Bea and Ivar had seen Freya. I wasn't far behind.

"What about Gage?" I asked.

"He'll rally the rest of Frost Fang in case we have to fight a coven of witches." Heath's mental voice revealed his distress. "In the meantime, we can't let the trail go cold."

Thanks to sensitive wolf shifter noses, Freya's scent trail could lead us straight to her, but I knew we couldn't blindly follow.

"We also need to avoid a trap. She's the perfect bait, and they know it."

Even before we reached the border of Frost Fang packlands, we heard the crunching of a vehicle behind us. I turned to find Bea driving a pickup truck. I felt the urge to do something to satisfy my wolf spirit's desire to protect my mate. They jumped out of the vehicle as I shifted back.

"You point the way," I told them. "I'll drive."

When Heath and I got into the cab, we discovered some hastily packed supplies, including water. Bea and Ivar rode in the open truck bed in their wolf forms, sniffing the air as I drove us toward the Frost Fang border.

As soon as I drove through a small clearing just outside packlands, Ivar and Bea leaped from the truck bed. We threw open the doors and shifted to follow them, though I sensed no enemies nearby.

"This better be good," Heath growled.

Soon we discovered fresh scents that made us growl with the knowledge enemy wolves had been so close to Frost Fang packlands.

"Ironwood," Heath confirmed my suspicions.

Freya had once lived among the Ironwood pack, but they'd exiled her, then later tried to kill her. This didn't bode well.

We needed to find her. Now.

But as Heath and I raced back toward the truck, Bea called, "Over here."

We joined her at a trampled grassy area where Freya's scent was strongest… alongside another scent.

"A witch," Ivar said grimly. "Just as you said."

"Gage suspected as much when he felt Freya's pain through the mate bond," Heath growled.

We fanned out but found the scent of only a single non-wolf. A coven of witches might hope to cover their trail, but a single mage or witch wouldn't have enough power to hide so many enemies from us.

Under normal circumstances, I respected witches and mages alike. They perceived unseen mysteries, like ancient medicine people. Their knowledge of the spirit realm's secrets gave them power… but whoever hurt Freya would die.

Heath shifted back into human form and opened the passenger door of the truck.

"Hurry," Heath ordered. "We're wasting precious time."

I shifted back to retake the driver's seat while the other two returned to the truck bed. It seemed our enemies hadn't brought a noisy vehicle that might give away their position, but that also worked to our advantage, so we could catch up to them.

Something puzzled me about all of this. "Why would Ironwood be working with witches?"

Heath flashed a savage grin that didn't quite reach his eyes. "I guess we'll find out soon."

"I wish Rowan were here."

He was the best tracker among us, and he had more experience than any of us at fighting witches. Unfortunately, he'd been away on a mission for a while.

As we continued following the scent trail deeper into the wildlands, Heath sent Gage a message to let him know what we'd found so far. The distance prevented pack bond communication, so we had to rely on human technology.

Any time Heath and I lost the scent because of our weaker human noses, I began driving off course. Our packmates in the truck bed would then yip to signal turns. Yet, I seldom strayed too far. It was obvious by now which way we were headed — Freya's kidnappers were cutting through the wildlands straight back toward Ironwood territory. Heath sent Gage another message, updating him on our progress.

When the trail disappeared into rocky terrain, we abandoned the truck. The four of us tore through the forest, not caring about stealth. The scent trail told us we were still far off. Together, we chased the cowardly Ironwood wolves back toward their packlands.

We pulled up short when the witch's scent trail broke away from Freya's. It seemed the witch had let her Ironwood wolf allies take Freya, while she headed in the opposite direction.

"Will you chase down the witch while I follow Freya's scent?" Heath asked me.

I growled, my wolf spirit unwilling to leave Freya when she was in need. In the end, we could do nothing except hunt for our mate.

Instead, I commanded Bea and Ivar, "Follow the scent of magic. Do not engage the witch, only discover her location. If possible, uncover her identity, coven, and intentions towards Freya. Report back without being discovered."

We split up, with Heath and I trailing our mate and her kidnappers through the wildlands. Carrying Freya slowed them down and our long alpha strides ate up the distance between us, so it wasn't long before we could hear the sounds of them up ahead, making me growl.

Heath nipped at my shoulder. "Quiet. You want to tip them off?"

"Not until we've killed a few of them first."

"We'll have to be smart about it. They far outnumber us."

When my sharp wolf eyes caught sight of movement in the woods ahead, I realized he was right. More than a dozen Ironwood wolves were ahead. As alphas, we could take on several attackers each, but they could eventually overpower us with sheer numbers. Our dominance and our alpha barks would give us some advantage, but we wouldn't be able to command so many at once, since they weren't our pack. And any alphas among them could countermand our orders to their packmates.

"We can't risk Freya," I murmured.

If they hurt her to stop us, I would never forgive myself or Heath. For now, I contented myself knowing that they'd kept her alive.

Along their trail, we discovered a fallen beta wolf with his throat torn out. I recognized him as a former Frost Fang wolf Gage had exiled out here to die.

When we'd questioned everyone, this beta confessed to being part of Nira's scheme to kill her mate, Garth, when they were the Frost Fang alpha pair. This foolhardy beta led his own pack alpha onto the killing field.

With her mate dead, Nira had ruled Frost Fang alone until Gage avenged his brother. As soon as we learned of the beta's involvement, Gage exiled him to the wildlands, knowing that only alphas could survive long out here.

Since Freya was no longer in heat, I doubted her scent had attracted the beta. This rogue wolf seemed to have just been unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Neither Heath nor I gave the beta's body any respect as we passed by. With his remains consumed by birds and other animals, his spirit would fail to reach the peaceful spirit realm.

"Ironwood should have sentries posted somewhere near here," Heath warned through the pack bond as we trotted a safe distance behind Freya and her kidnappers. "We're getting close to their packlands."

I growled in response. My wolf spirit wanted to charge straight into the fray, and in wolf form, he had the advantage. I longed for the same and barely kept him restrained.

"Maybe we should attack first," I suggested. "This is our last chance."

"And get ourselves killed? How would that help Freya?"

I hated that Heath was right, though I was thankful for his self-control. As we drew closer and closer to Ironwood packlands, my wolf whimpered and whined. We'd seen her scars. She'd grown up in Ironwood, and they'd mistreated her at every turn. The situation was dire.

When Heath demanded we stop, it took all my willpower to calm my wolf spirit. Although my wolf spirit was more powerful in this form, my human side prevailed.

"If we go any farther, we risk discovery," Heath reminded me, and probably himself.

He paced back and forth, peeking out from behind a boulder every few minutes as we watched the enemy carry our mate into danger.

"We'll tear them limb from limb," I told Heath — and myself. "Everyone who hurts her will suffer."

That soothed my wolf spirit, but only slightly, as the distance between him and his mate distressed him. He believed we should never be separated.

With daylight fading, we paced restlessly. Then Heath's phone pinged, and he shifted back into human form to answer the message. Heath shivered in the night's cold for a few minutes before shoving his phone back into his sling bag and shifting back so we could talk through the pack bond.

"Gage talked to Rowan," Heath said. "While Gage threatens pack war, Rowan will infiltrate Ironwood."

"Maybe we should as well. Sitting out here isn't helpful."

Heath chuffed a laugh without humor. "That's the truth. But for now, Gage told us to wait."

Once we found Freya, nothing could stop us from keeping her safe. We'd conquered the last pack that threatened Freya. We would do it again if necessary. And this time, they would face all four of us.

Let no one underestimate the Howling Echo alphas.